whales and gas and how cars determine social status

I have a kick-butt car. It's a Volvo. And it rocks. It can fit five kids and two adults. (Not that I need to fit five kids.) Except, the gas cap cover thing fell off on the freeway during that very hot spell of weather we had.

Hello, a new one is like $800 or something. Not exactly in our budget. So...without further ado, meet the gas cap cover.

It cost me $4.00 (the cost of the 3M Command strips I used to hold it up). The fabrics are scraps. Best part--it's reversible! Ha. Thrifty AND inventive. All the other Volvo wagon drivers will be so jealous. It is funny, my car before this was a Honda Civic. I loved that Honda and felt it really 'fit' with my personality, if you know what I mean? But this Volvo, while awesome, has a different class of person driving it than I am. When I drive it, I feel rich. Just send the Nanny around to unbuckle the kids, please. I'm heading out for a manicure.

Really, though, I felt a little trashy with my gas cap exposed for the world to see.

As promised, I made whale pants for Oliver.

It was a little tricky without any pattern. I traced a loose-ish pair of his pants and used that as my template, then added cuffs and a waistband. He loves them, as you can see.